Merlin

Reincarnation is a funny thing, and for Arthur, his life is about to change forever. Will he be able to save Albion again? Merlin/Arthur slash. Modern.

The Cycle begins again

A dark grey cloud covered the streets of London, a lite drizzle floating down to the ground, covering everything, making it damp. The people on the streets walked swiftly, eager to get out of the rain, not to catch a cold or turn up to work drenched. These people were oblivious to horror that was lying in a damp ally way between the buildings. They simply didn't notice or care, or drag their attention from the mobiles to notice the world around them.

Except, one man did. He wondering down the ally, muttering to himself. His clothes were baggy, ripped and covered in dirt. A homeless man with a beanie so thin that it barely brought any warmth to the man's head. He was searching for food, having not eaten for a couple of days. There was bin in the alley, and he would dumpster-dive here, to weak to search any further. He was swaying slightly, when he saw a figure laying in the middle of the ally. The man approached.

"Hey man, are you OK?" the homeless man asked. His voice with a dream-like quality to it, like he wasn't all there.
The man didn't answer.
"Are you awake?" the homeless man continued. He reached the man and gently shook him. The homeless man reeled back, stumbling and falling on his ass. He scrambled back.
"You are not OK!" the homeless man trembled. "He's not OK. Help! This man needs some help!"

He looked at the man before him and shivered.
"Don't move, I'll get you some help," the homeless man muttered. He quickly got to his feet and ran down the ally. He burst on to the street.
"Help! This man needs some help!" he cried, pointing down the ally. The people passing walked faster and created a wide arch around him so that they wouldn't be near him.
"Please! That man needs some help!" he cried, desperate for someone.

"Hey man, are you OK?" a teenager asked. He had long hair that looked like it had never been brushed and baggy jeans.
"No! That man needs some help. Please help him," the homeless man cried. He headed down the ally way and the teenager followed behind him, a couple paces behind, just to be on the safe side.

They reached the man and the teenager cried out in surprise.
"Jesus, fuck!"

"I brought some help," the homeless man said to the dead body. The teenager already had his phone out and was dialling the police.

"Yeah, hello. Jesus, fuck! There's a dead man in an ally!"

Detective Arthur Pendragon looked at the dead body with a mix of horror and shock. His father Uther Pendragon had been an Detective and than become chief of the station. Arthur was expected to follow in his footsteps. They had seen many things in their line of work, a man speared on a pole, a man head in a toilet bowl, but nothing like this.

The dead man's body was pale but his in his face you could see every little vein that, long blue noodles, and his eyes. Arthur would never forget the eyes. They were blackest of black. The rest of his body was twisted and mangled. His intestines laid smeared across the ally walls.

His partner, Lancelot, looked ill. Morgana, a beautiful woman with pale skin but a sharp tongue and detective too, was looking paler than usual.
"That's disgusting," Lance said, shivering.
"Who could do such a thing?" Morgana asked, disgusted.

"Ask them when we catch the bastard," Arthur said, pulling off some gloves and scanning the place.

This was not the first call they had received where the body was mangled and eyes that were black.

"Have you catalogued everything?" Arthur asked, turning to them.
"Yes, evidence has been bagged and tagged. We can leave," Morgana said, looking relieved.
"Thank the Lord," Lance muttered.
"The body is ready to be taken to autopsy too," Morgana said, looking at the body bag.
"Perhaps Gaius can find out what happened," Arthur said.

Gaius was the coroner and was the best. They had solved many cases thanks to him and his knowledge seemed never ending. They collected their things and headed back to the station. Uther was waiting and immediately demanded a report.

"Male, aged 25- 30, gutted in the ally," Lance reported. He hesitated. "His eyes were black too."

Uther scowled.

"That is the fourth case this week. What the hell is happening!" Uther growled.
"We intend to find out," Morgana said coldly.
"Do it fast," Uther snapped. They nodded.

They quickly sat behind their desk and began working.
"It's getting worse," Morgana said, speaking into the silence of the room. "I can feel it."
Arthur looked at her sharply. Ever since they had been kids, Morgana had suffered from nightmares. Her parents had died when she was young. Uther and Yagrine (Arthur's mother) were friends with her parents and had taken her in. At first her screaming in the night was a pain to Arthur and he made sure to tell her. Until one night, she dreamed that Arthur would be hit by a car. She had told him. Later that day he had nearly been hit, but Morgana pulled him back just in the nick of time.

From that day, they had taken Morgana's dreams seriously. Arthur was now worried. Did these deaths have something...supernatural to them? Lance was looking between the too of. Lance was a handsome man and was dating Morgana's best friend Gwen. Gwen knew about Morgana's gift so of Lance had been clued in. Lance took the news surprisingly well. Much better than Uther had and Arthur.

"We should see Gaius," Lance said.

Gaius was an old man that could you give so many look with a raised an eyebrow. That in itself was a magic that Arthur had been on the end of many times. Gaius had been Uther's friend since before Arthur was born and was a big part of his life. He also knew about Morgana's gift and had made a brew of ingredients to try and help her sleep. It worked sometimes, but others the dreams simply came. Gaius had told her that she was destined to see these dreams. Arthur knew that Gaius knew more than he was letting on he was determined to find out what.

"Lance is right. We need to get to the bottom of this, sooner rather than later," Morgana said. She stood and swept out of the room. Lance and Arthur looked at each other and followed her out.

Autopsy was on the bottom floor and always cold. They took the elevator down and headed into autopsy. Gaius was hunched over the body, making notes and prodding the body.

He looked up when he heard them enter.
"I'm afraid your to early for me to have any results," Gaius said dryly.

"We know," Morgana said, not looking at the body. She swallowed thickly. Arthur felt the same.
Gaius eyebrow went up higher and lance exchanged a look with him.
"Then what brings you down here?"
"We want to know what your thoughts are on the murders," Arthur said. "I know you have a theory, don't try and deny it."

Gaius looked at all of them and heaved a sigh.
"Of course I have a theory, but your not going to like it," Gaius said.
"Enlighten us," Arthur said dryly.

"Not here. I need to examine this body first, than I shall tell you," Gaius said, retuning to his work. "You are not the only ones who need to hear it."

Morgana, Arthur and Lance were surprised. Arthur was sure than Gaius would deny everything but to willingly tell them, it was unsettling. He always tried to protect them.

They left, feeling uneasy and continued into their investigation, but hopes of finding the killer was slim if there other unsolved cases were anything to go by.

Arthur sat at the large dining room table in his parents home. He wasn't alone. Morgana, Lance, Gwen, Yagrine and Uther joined him. They were waiting for Gaius. They were all curious to here what he had to say, after all, Gaius was a privet person. He had warned them that they weren't going to like what he had to say. This made Uther suspicious.

There was a knock on the door and Yagrine got up to answer it. Arthur got his blonde hair from his mother along with her eyes. She was beautiful, slim and so very kind.

She retuned with Gaius who wasn't alone. Beside him stood a tall women. She had long dark hair and crystal blue eyes. She was pale with dark lips. There was an air of confidence and knowledge around her. She smiled softly, her eyes gleaming with hidden knowledge.
"This is Nimueh," Gaius said, looking around them.
"It's nice to see you again," Nimueh said, grinning.

They had met Nimueh once before. She was a friend of Gaius's and had helped Yagrine with her fertility issues, allowing her to become pregnant with Arthur.

"What it it that you need to speak with us?" Uther asked, getting straight to the point.
"Yes," Gaius said. "It is about the murders."
"You have a lead?" Lance asked, surprised.
"Why didn't you tell us at the station?" Arthur asked.
"Because this is bigger then a simple serial killer," Gaius said. "I have been consulting with Nimueh and we have come to a conclusion."

"What conclusion?" Yagrine asked, looking at the tow of them.
"What is going on?" Uther demanded.

"Magic," Nimueh said.

There as a deathly silence. Nobody moved or spoke.
"Magic?" Uther said slowly. Gaius nodded.
"You want us to believe that these string of bizarre murders are caused by magic?" Arthur asked.

There was amusement in his voice. Gwen looked shocked and a little doubtful.
"It is not so far fetched as you want to believe," Gaius said, a hint of anger in his tone. "You believe Morgana's visions."
"That's is different," Uther said, standing up, anger colouring his tone.
"Morgana is a seer," Nimueh said, sounding bored. "She is magic, just as Arthur was born of magic when I helped with your fertility issues."

Arthur looked to his parents in shock.
"That was magic?" Yagrine asked, shocked.
"Of course. It was difficult magic, one that only a priestess of the old religion could make. For a life to be created, a life must be taken."
"Who's life was taken?" Morgana asked. Nimueh pierced her with a hard look.
"Your mothers life."

Morgana looked pale and Yagrine looked as if she was about to be sick.
Lance and Gwen looked uncomfortable, not sure why they were here.

"What has this got to do with the murders?" Arthur asked, eager to get of this topic.

"Like I said. I'm a priestess of the Old religion. The very heart of magic," Nimueh said, taking a seat at the table. Gaius took a seat too.

"Tell me, do you believe in reincarnation?"
There was several shrugs.
"You should," Gaius said. "Especially since you are in the middle of all this."
"What do you mean?" Arthur asked, confused.
"These murders are happening because your souls have been reincarnated," Gaius explained.
"What does that mean?" Gwen asked, speaking for the first time.
"You have lived this life before," Nimueh said, grinning. She was enjoying herself.

"Have you ever dreamed of something, that seemed familiar?" Gaius asked.
Nobody spoke but their silence spoke volumes. They all had.
"This is not the first life you have lived," Nimueh continued. "Sometimes, you remember your previous lives. For example I remember, as does Gaius. We remember living hundred of years ago."
"Morgana has remembered once before," Gaius said, looking to the pale seer. She looked at him, wide eyes.
"One time Yagrine remembered," Gaius continued.

They looked doubtful.
"What was our first life?" Morgana asked. Everyone looked to her. Nimueh was grinning.
"An excellent question. You are the legend of Morgana Le Flay."
"But she was evil," Gwen gasped. "She led Prince Arthur to his death."
"Indeed she did," Gaius said.
"So I'm evil," Morgana said coldly.
"No, my dear. In previous lives you have redeemed yourself," Gaius said kindly, soothing her fears. "You had help, learning about your powers."

Morgana nodded, relieved.
"Wait, if she is Morgana Le Flay, than who are we?" Lance asked.
"Your are Sir Lancelot, Knight of Camelot and Arthur friend," Gaius explained. "Gwen is Guinevere, Queen. Uther is was King with his wife, Queen Yagrine. And Arthur is the once and future King of Albion."

They all sat there, shocked. How were you meant to react to that?
"This is absurd," Uther said in a hoarse voice.
"Is it?" Nimueh asked. "You've seen Morgana do magic, I've done magic."
Uther sat in silence and was not pleased that he had been shut down.
Silence rang out over the room. Nimueh sighed.
"Are they always this hard?" Nimueh asked Gaius.
"Yes," he chuckled. "Last time they tired to have me admitted."

Nimueh gave a bark of laughter.

Arthur's head was spinning. If what they were saying was true, than he had once been the King of Albion.
"If we have all been reincarnated, than who is killing all those people?" Morgana asked. "And why?"

"Power, of course. What else?" Gaius said.
"And the great King Arthur Pendragon born again?" Nimueh said. "It is not an opportunity to pass up. Not after all that you have done in the past."

Nimueh and Gaius were looking at Arthur with pride and admiration.

"But who is killing them?" Morgana urged. Arthur realised that she believed this madness.
"That is who we need to find out and that's why we are you telling you," Gaius said. "You have all made many enemies in the past."

Silence took hold again as they all looked at each other.

"If this is true," Lance said slowly, taking hold of Gwen's hand. "Aren't you missing someone vitally important?"

Gwen looked at Lance, confused. Everyone else looked to him too.

"Merlin!" Lance cried. "where is Merlin? Arthur's advisor?"

Nimueh and Gaius smiled. "we haven't forgotten about Merlin."
"Where is he?" Morgana asked. Eyes alight. Arthur had to admit that he was intrigued.

"Around," Nimueh said vaguely. "Once I scry for him I will know his exact location."

"How do you know Merlin remembers?" Gwen asked. "You said that only sometimes we remember. What if Merlin doesn't?"
"That won't be a problem," Nimueh said. "Merlin always remembers. He remembers every betrayal, every loyalty, every sacrifice, everything."

Her eyes bore into Arthur's and he felt a twist of guilt in his stomach.
"So where is he?" Uther asked, a sarcastic tone lingering.
"Waiting for Arthur."

She stared at Arthur and everyone turned to look at him. Arthur stared back. Finally she dropped her gaze and placed on the table a stone bowl. He didn't want to know where it had come from. Gaius handed a flask and she poured it into the bowl. Clear liquid came out and settled in the bowl.

She waved her hand over it, a strange language spilling her mouth. Arthur leaned back as her eyes glowed gold. Everyone else was stunned to, apart from Gaius and Morgana was leaning forward eagerly.

"Merlin!" Nimueh finished and smiled smugly.

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